The objective was to evaluate whether pre operative administration of dexamethasone improved post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), pain and respiratory function tests in women undergoing conservative surgery for breast cancer. This was a controlled clinical trial conducted between June 2013 and October 2014. Eighty patients were evaluated. Patients received a pre operative dose of 8 mg of dexamethasone (n = 40) or placebo (n = 40). The data on PONV and pain intensity was obtained and forced spirometry tests were performed, 1 hr before and at 1, 6, 12 and 24 hr after surgery. Any use of additional analgesic/antiemetic drugs was recorded. Patients were followed until 30 days after surgery for any surgical or medical complications. The pain intensity was lower in the treatment group for all periods; PONV was lower at 6, 12 and 24 hr; Additional analgesics/antiemetics were required less frequently (all p < .05).Both groups exhibited a restrictive ventilatory pattern immediately after surgery, which was reversed in the following hours. However, spirometric values were higher in the dexamethasone group. There were no pulmonary or metabolic complications after surgery. Our conclusions were that dexamethasone significantly reduced the incidences of PONV, pain and improved respiratory parameters, and reduced the need for additional post operative analgesic and antiemetic drugs.
K E Y W O R D Sdexamethasone, mastectomy, nausea, postoperative pain, respiratory function tests, vomiting
| INTRODUCTIONGlobally, breast cancer (BC) remains the most common malignancy in women. In developing countries, such as Mexico there has been an increase in mortality caused by BC (Rodríguez-Cuevas, GuisaHohenstein & Labastida-Almendaro, 2009;Siegel, Ma, Zou & Jemal, 2014). It is the most common cancer in this country, followed by cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; each year 25,000-30,000 new cases are diagnosed. Fortunately, more patients now have access to proper screening using mammography, so the proportion of patients with local tumours found at diagnosis is increasing. Total or partial mastectomy with or without axillary lymph node dissection is the most frequently used surgical treatment, along with adjuvant chemoor radiotherapy. Post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common complication after anaesthesia and surgery (Kovac, 2000;Watcha & White, 1992). Women undergoing mastectomy are at particularly high risk for developing PONV, and the reported incidence is 60%-80% in patients not receiving antiemetic medication (Hammas, Thorn & Wattwil, 2002;Oddby-Muhrbeck, Jakobsson, Andersson & Askergren, 1994;Sadhasivam et al., 1999). Emetic episodes predispose patients to numerous complications, such as gastric aspiration, wound dehiscence, psychological distress, and delayed recovery and discharge times (Watcha & White, 1992). These reasons justify the use of prophylactic antiemetics in women scheduled for breast surgery. In addition, respiratory function is often compromised after a major surgical procedure, particularly those p...